Box Score CLEVELAND—The Statesmen soccer team looked to gain their first win of the season against Harding Friday afternoon. However, the Bison had other plans as they used two first half goals to defeat the Statesmen 3-2 at Delta Field.
The Statesmen (0-6) took an early lead after scoring the first goal of the match. A penalty called in the box against Harding gave the Statesmen a penalty kick. Senior midfielder
Joel Salazar put the penalty shot passed Bison keeper Zach Auala, and the Statesmen took the early advantage.
Harding (3-2-1) came back in the 27th minute and tied the match up at 1-1. Jacob Stevens was able to get the ball passed junior keeper
Flavio Romero on a diving header to knot the match up.
The Bison were not done, as they added one more goal in the first half. Romero made a hard tackle on Austin Brown in the box, and he was sent off with a red card. That meant that the Statesmen were down to 10 men, and freshman keeper
Sebastian Simota came in to replace Romero. Simota had to defend a penalty kick right off the bat, and Brown put the ball in the back of the net to give Harding the 2-1 lead.
The match remained a 2-1 affair until the 81st minute when the Bison added their third goal. Rhon Royer scored to give Harding a two-goal cushion with less than 10 minutes to play.
The Statesmen did not give up as they scored in the 86th minute. Once again on a penalty kick, Salazar scored his second goal of the game. Unfortunately for the Statesmen they could not muster an equalizing goal, and the Bison came away with the victory.
Three more players were booked in the match besides Romero with all three being from Harding. Caleb Eddleman was booked with a yellow card in the 33rd minute. Cameron Rose picked up a yellow in the 38th minute, and Cole Walker was given a yellow card in the 73rd minute.
The Statesmen now turn their attention to a Tuesday match against Lyon College. The match gets underway at 1 p.m. in Batesville, Ark. The Statesmen return to Delta Field a week later to take on Christian Brothers at 4 p.m. on Sept. 27.
